Women 's Rights During World War II

One of the most important roles that women played, were the increasing large amount of female soldiers fighting in the war. These roles gave women the right to work and serve in armed forces. The jobs that women took part in during this time period made a huge difference in the war, and in turn, WW2 helped expand women’s

Women had a huge role in the World War II that so many do not recognize. Women were involved in many different jobs that allowed them to step out of the ordinary norm as the “typical housewife”, and dive into fierce hardworking jobs that until then only a man could do. Women jumped into the factories and many different roles that contributed to World War II, because the need for more American workers was crucial.

After years of Civil Rights Movements and Pay Equity Acts, as of 2014, women still only make 79 cents to a man 's every dollar. Although the wage gap has shrunk since the 1970’s, progress has recently stalled and chances of it vanishing on its own is unlikely. The gains that American women have made towards labor market experience and skills is tremendous. In fact, women account for 47% of labor workforce and 49.3% of American jobs. But despite of women’s strides, a gender pay gap still exists. Experts suggest that it will take 100 years to close the gap at the rate employers and legislators are working to create solutions. But by allowing women to work in higher paying positions and by proposing and updating pay equity laws, the gender gap can finally be diminished.

Many people question if women went into the war because of patriotism or because they lacked other opportunities. Women responded to the call differently depending on age, race, class, marital status, and number of children. They switch from lower-paying female jobs to higher-paying factory jobs. While patriotism influenced women,

Considering the relatively extensive rights women have gained in the past century, this investigation will provide an in-depth analysis of what rights have truly been gained, at what pace, when and to what extent, specifically in regards to Canadian women in the labor force. Therefore, the question as to “How did World War II affect Women’s Rights in the Labor Force of Canada?” will be investigated by first representing three sources (all scholarly articles), "Women and Income Security in the Post-War Period: The Case of Unemployment Insurance, 1945-1962" By Ann Porter, "Revisiting Canada 's civilian women during World War II" By Jeff Keshen and “Pick One Intelligent Girl: Employability, Domesticity and the Gendering of Canada 's Welfare State, 1939-1947” By Jennifer Anne Stephen. Anecdotes, statistics and other pertinent evidence will be deduced from each source in order to be presented, and evaluated. Evaluation of each source will include analysis of potential author biases and overall message of the source for readers, as well as an evaluation of the accuracy of the data presented in each source. Consequently, a conclusion will be drawn in order to distinguish the reliability the sources in giving accurate support and evidence to the guiding question.

In the years after the Second World War, people created uncountable numbers of historiographical research on various topics related to the war, such as military tactics in battles, individual groups of men during their time in service, and other such subjects. Not much surprise exists then, that women’s actions in World War II eventually would also gain interest and publication for the public, though it did not gain an undivided focus until the advent of women’s and social history grew momentum. Women, despite being half of the world’s population, doubtlessly had acted during the war years, although limited by social gender expectations of the period. As time passes from 1945, more interest in the lives of women and their effect on the war

Many people have never considered what women were doing in WWII when their husbands left to fight. Their lives weren’t easy or normal during the war. Women had to work just as hard as men, sometimes even more so. In this essay, I will discuss the position of American women before World War II, during the war, and at the end of the war.

Before the war, women’s roles in the household were to simply raise the children and maintain the home, or to take these things off of the plates of their busy husbands hands, but in this era of wartime production women who were married, unmarried, or married and had children went to work. Some 14 million women went to work building landing vehicles, ships, planes anything needed so that their boys were properly supplied on the front lines. With this shift from wife and mom to worker, women began to overcome much of the discrimination they previously battled in the work place, like being paid fewer wage than men. This movement was fueled by a massive propaganda campaign that started to change how women thought it meant to be a woman. At the peak of the industrial boom caused by World War II, 40 percent of all women worked for wages in the US and out of the entire workforce, 36 percent were women. Being a women in this period no longer required sitting at home all day cleaning the house while the children were at school and the opportunity to make on honest days wage became increasingly appealing to many housewives. Women, now accustomed to being treated this way, saw this as a step forward in society for them. Sadly, this way of life most women who joined the work force was short lived.

Women served an important role in WWII. They not only took the challenge and stepped up to take the places of the men off fighting in the war to work in factories, but they also fought side by side with those risking their lives and fighting for their country. They were needed everywhere during the war. There were an unbelievable amount of job opportunities for women during the war and many supported the brave acts of voluntary enlistment. “‘A woman’s place is in the home’ was an old adage, but it still held true at the start of World War II. Even though millions of women worked, home and family we considered the focus of their lives” says Brenda Ralf Lewis. Without the help of those women who were brave enough to

The current social, political and economic status of women most definitely are not the same as they were during the war. Today,

In 1942 the Women’s Army Corps was introduced. These women worked in more than 200 non- combatant jobs stateside and also every part of the war. They served not only as common nurses but also “within the ranks of the United States Army.” There was also the Women’s Army Corps introduced in 1942. This group of 1,100 women was asked to join and fly military aircraft, due to the shortage of pilots. Their job was to fly from factories to military bases and also different take off points around the country. Even though during their enlistment the WASP were supposed to become part of the military, after a couple years the program was cancelled. The last group the, Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, was already established. After being absent for twenty-three years, they had to be reactivated because of WW2. While a large portion of these women did the job of secretarial and clerical they had other jobs they did. Thousands of WAVES performed duties in aviation, medical professions, communication, intelligence, science and technology. These military jobs and the other non-traditional jobs the women participated in made them almost like a ghost in their home front.

The occurrence of war normally has diverse impacts on people especially the women. Women form an important part in the society as they act as the force and helpmate for mankind throughout existence. As such, they believe that the role society has handed them is not essentially the only role that they are destined to play. At the commencement of the Civil War, many American women had a fragile character, but they showed their courage as they took a stand for their country. By the start of the Second World War, women had learned that they were required to protect the United States by engaging in men’s work while balancing their family and personal life.

Many of these women were not only paving the way with their war efforts but questioning and pushing the boundaries of the expectations of society. Female efforts in war tend to be focused around nursing,

After getting an education as well as knowing there worth in society women knew there were more than just a wife and mother. During WWII women demonstrated their power to think in a world without men as they were off fighting the war. Women began to understand that they had more to offer the world other than housekeeping and raising children. In addition, many women wanted to continue working after the war as they had held jobs with responsibilities as well as earning wages. Furthermore, women were the ones making financial decisions as well as working in positions with higher responsibilities. Many women as well as minorities were simply casted a side to make room for the returning solders. This created a silent discontent among women

It was uncertain to what extent did women’s participation in WWI changed the attitude and position of women in post-war Europe. One thing assured is that women’s wartime efforts were recognized in the years after WWI. In recognition of women’s support during the war, Canada, the United States, Britain, and a number of European countries extended suffrage to women. It seems that the turbulence and the despair of World War I had caused a re-examination of many of the treasured values in many western societies, including gender expectations.